PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Nine Brown graduates who have distinguished themselves through their efforts in the arts, sciences, letters, scholarship, and public service received honorary degrees today from Brown University during the University’s 246th Commencement ceremonies:

Lee Berk ’64, former president of Berklee College of Music and an advocate for broader community programs of musical education;

Beatrice E. Coleman ’25, schoolteacher, church musician, and former secretary of the NAACP’s New England Regional Conference (awarded posthumously);

Honorary degrees are awarded by the University’s Board of Fellows and are conferred by the University president — in English and in Latin — during Commencement exercises on the College Green. Texts of the individual citations follows here.

Educator, civic leader, author, and advocate for the power of music, you have forever changed the landscape of education through the development of contemporary curricula at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where you served as president for 25 years. Succeeding your father, who founded the college in 1945, you have cultivated a rich array of pathways to excellence in the performance, production, and application of music. Under your leadership, Berklee kept pace with evolving technology, concentrated on practical career training for musicians, established the premier distance learning program for music education, and forged enduring connections with international partners and local organizations that were willing to embrace the therapeutic benefits of music. Your belief in the value of music and the cross-cultural understanding that can result from musical pursuits has motivated you to establish charter schools focused on the arts and a national music program for talented urban teens. Since your retirement from Berklee, you have brought your love and support of jazz to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona, volunteering for a number of arts organizations. For your tireless efforts to expand music education and create a more harmonious society through support of artistry, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Trailblazing student, dedicated teacher and an ardent devotee to the life of the mind, Beatrice Coleman was one of three black women to graduate from the Women’s College in Brown University in the Class of 1925. Her life was characterized by an independent spirit and a desire to earn her own living and apply in daily life what she learned in the classrooms on College Hill. As the granddaughter of slaves and the daughter of a mother who ran errands for a local dressmaker, she realized early that she wanted to control her own destiny. In a time of blatant discrimination and institutionalized racism, she forged ahead with her education, left the state of Rhode Island in order to find her first teaching job, and became a permanent member and leader within the NAACP. Throughout her career, she demonstrated her love for the children she taught, an abiding interest in history and music, and a profound attachment to Brown and the African-American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. Until she passed away in April 2014, at the age of 109, she continued to cherish the education she received at Brown. For living a life of great usefulness and reputation, providing a stellar example for the women who would follow in her footsteps, and remaining ever true to her alma mater, we honor Beatrice Coleman posthumously with a degree of Doctor of Humane Letter, honoris causa.

Celebrated novelist, Pultizer-Prize winner, teacher and mentor, you chose to become a writer because you understood that the literary process would awaken you to the vivid complexities of the world. Your three highly praised novels revolve around the theme of identity — how we absorb the details of our surroundings, process them, and respond to them in profoundly personal ways. But your works also widen our gaze and lead us to ponder the evolution and the current state of humanity more broadly. In addition to your mastery of narrative and psychological analysis, you are precise in your use of language and deeply attuned to the fragility of life. These qualities reflect your overall devotion to your craft and your integrity as a storyteller. Your creativity, incisiveness and unmatched work ethic have won you both critical and popular acclaim and positioned you as one of the most respected literary figures working today. And you have followed in the footsteps of your mentors by sharing your love of learning and your approach to writing with a rising generation of students. For your eloquent depictions of human nature, your fierce commitment to excellence and your efforts to shape new literary voices, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

Caring physician, renowned geneticist, and a member of the Brown Medical School’s first graduating class in 1975, you have transformed your lifelong excitement about scientific inquiry into an unmatched career as both a pediatrician and a researcher. Your desire to explore the application of clinical science to the health of children has led to groundbreaking discoveries that hold the potential to influence treatment of numerous diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS. As the Sterling Professor of Genetics at Yale University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute you have collaborated with peers around the world to illuminate a key understanding of the way in which proteins reach their biological potential inside cells. Your exhaustive experiments have shown that proteins need help to fold into their functional form and that it might be possible to prevent misfolding, which is a hallmark of many degenerative diseases. As the accolades for your achievements have poured in, you have remained focused on the task of translating your findings into concrete benefits for physicians and patients. For your compassionate work of more than 20 years as a physician and your dedication to conducting the foundational research that will help preserve the quality of life, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa.

Groundbreaking computer scientist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and avowed big thinker, your vision has led to the rapid development of display hardware and greater access to computers for children in developing nations. Your belief in the value of combining science and artistry has influenced the creation of innovative screen-based products and inspired the Google founders to name you head of its Display Division at Google [x], the company’s secretive and futuristic development wing. At M.I.T., you developed the first holographic video system in the world and went on to pioneer the design of wearable display devices, HDTV and liquid crystal displays. You co-founded the highly successful nonprofit One Laptop per Child and overcame the challenges of providing low-cost, low-power computing in order to meet the needs of students in rural and underserved areas. Your work in this area has transformed educational opportunities for millions of students and allowed them to explore more fully their place in the global community. In addition, you have worked with partners and consumers around the globe to improve production methods and reduce energy use in the process. You have developed four start-up companies and more than 50 patents, and your efforts have won you numerous national and international awards. In recognition of your entrepreneurial spirit, your faith in the broad potential of technology, and your drive to improve society through more thoughtful design, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Highly regarded as one of the nation’s top executives, a pioneer among women, and a strong, thoughtful leader, you have directed the evolution of BET Networks from a music-centric network to a media powerhouse. During your 28-year tenure at the company, you have applied your expertise in law, business management, media relations, and the arts to broaden BET Networks’ viewership, expand its cultural influence, and ensure that its programming educates and inspires as well as entertains. As Chairman and CEO of the company, your understanding of the current media landscape has allowed you to re-imagine BET Networks’ brand and extend its reach on an international level. To do so, you have taken a stand against degrading content and proven that uplifting programming can attract and retain a wider audience. Your willingness to share your experience with other businesswomen and your outstanding support of education and the arts throughout your career have won you the admiration of your peers, numerous awards, and a seat on President Obama’s Management Advisory Board. For your distinguished career as a business leader, your service to various artistic communities, and your contributions to the University, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Acclaimed and beloved author, mother, grandmother, and champion of literature as a gateway to better understanding the world, you have written more than 40 books that have touched the lives of children around the globe. You have twice won the Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature by an American author, making you one of only three to have received the award more than once. Your two most celebrated works, The Giver and Number the Stars demonstrate both your incomparable gift for storytelling and your steadfast belief in the therapeutic value of words. Your devotion to instilling a love of reading in young people as well as the ability to face the complexities of life with equanimity and compassion for others continues to set a valuable example for both children and adults. For your outstanding contributions to literature, your perseverance in pursuing your dream of becoming a writer, and the strength you have shown in channeling personal tragedy into your art, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

Pioneering ecologist, teacher and public communicator, your career has been marked by intellectual curiosity and exceptional creativity in bringing scientific knowledge to diverse populations. As a faculty member at The Evergreen State College in Washington for 20 years, you helped to build the field of forest canopy studies with your exploration of the aerial mechanisms by which trees in the rain forest acquire the nourishment that is not available to them from the nutrient-poor soil. You have published more than 100 scientific articles and four scholarly books, but your drive to involve the public in the work of science and conservation has multiplied your impact. You have worked in collaboration with artists, dancers, filmmakers, and incarcerated men and women to broaden access to environmental information and job training in green industries. In developing the National Science Foundation Research Ambassadors Program and co-founding the Sustainability in Prisons Project, you have opened up pathways to public awareness and engagement with science in non-traditional venues. And, as a current professor of biology and director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Utah, you continue to promote the value of scientific learning for people of all ages. For your deep commitment to science education, public awareness of environmental issues, and the development of conservation strategies for the benefit of society, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Lawyer, consumer advocate and dedicated public servant, your desire to extend and protect the rights of your fellow citizens developed early in life and blossomed here on College Hill. The son of immigrants, you worked your way through Brown, earned your law and public policy degrees from Harvard, and built a career focused on mitigating inequality and eradicating injustice in all areas of society. In your capacity as a civil rights attorney and in various government positions, you have worked to eliminate predatory lending practices, implement hate-crimes legislation, encourage revision of harassment policies in public schools, close loopholes in employment discrimination laws, and ensure equal treatment of people with disabilities and health concerns across the nation. As Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation you addressed critical workforce development needs, including a dangerous shortage of nurses within the state, and oversaw the enforcement of a range of consumer rights and workplace safety laws. Now, as the nation’s 26th Secretary of Labor, appointed by President Obama, you are applying your considerable knowledge, skills and compassion to the goal of improving the welfare of all Americans in terms of employment, health care benefits and preparation for retirement. For your deep devotion to public service, your passionate defense of human rights, and your pursuit of a more equitable society, we honor you with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Note to Editors:

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